Sample Backgrounds

Characters may or may not have led active, interesting lives and gained knowledge/skills prior to the first day of the campaign. Depending upon the ruling of the referee, there are three basic options for expressing this in terms of the game.

1. No background at all, the character is a blank slate; her past is something that shall be determined in play.
2. The player has strong idea, which can be related in a minimal number of sentences (50 words is a good limit).
3. Roll on the table below 1d3 times. Identical results may be rerolled, or may be taken to indicate a high level of proficiency in the implied skills related to the background.
   

Roll 1d10

1. Forager: Foragers live outside the cities. Players with this background must pick a specific environment with which they are familiar (e.g. swamp, desert, woodland): within this environment the forager knows how to acquire untainted food and water. Any character that survives a significant amount of time the wilderness of the Metal Earth will pick up this background.

2. Scholar: At the very least someone with this background is functionally literate. The character may also have knowledge of a certain subject area.

3. Criminal: Criminals come in different varieties. At the very least, a character with this background should have black market/underworld connections in their home town. It is also possible that they are experienced in breaking and entering, extortion or some other traditionally criminal activity.

4. Outlander: This is character from another time or world. This background is available only to humans.

5. Looter: Looters have experience gaining access to and dealing with the hazards of ruins.

6. Farmer: Metal Earth farmers are adept in working with and repairing the machines of a green shaft.

7. Artists: Artists are capable practitioners of an art form (e.g., poetry, painting, sculpture) or one of the performing arts (e.g., stripping, playing a musical instrument, acting, prostitution).

8. Sailor: Sailors know about boats and junk(s).

9. Artisan: Artisans have a manufacturing skill that requires the use of their hands; this could be anything from making jewelry to blacksmithing to house painting.

10. Guard: Guards are trained in standard military procedure. Guards know how to march in formation; keep things polished; open and close gates; defend against a siege, and sometimes enforce the law.

Note: Certain species have automatic access to some backgrounds (e.g. all Sasquatch can be foragers) and may select these background in place of one random roll each). A suitable background should confer a bonus on task resolution saving throws (see here for more detail). The exact nature of each background listed below is described in terms of the Metal Earth setting. In some cases, they may well be different than what would be found in other settings. In all cases the exact impact a specific background has in mechanical terms is up to the referee.

Self Indulgence: More on The Metal Earth Book

Today, I was thinking about buying a copy of a forthcoming retroclone, but in the end I decided against it, because I would not get much use out of it.
This led to more thoughts on the eventual Metal Earth book; looking at all my material, some of which is up on the blog, some of which is not, I came to realize that I have made significant changes to virtually every aspect of the game. Therefore I have decided that the Metal Earth booklet will be formatted in such a way so that it can be used as either a supplement or as a game. With some very minor exceptions, everything in the Metal Earth book will be compatible with the older versions of the world's most popular rpg. However, although the Metal Earth game will use the same basic building blocks as that game, it will be its own thing. To give you a slightly better idea if where I am coming from here is the first draft of the introduction:

This book is broken in to two separate parts. The first part is a generic set of rules intended to facilitate Science fantasy role-play in any setting. A referee can adjust these rules to fit a specific setting of his own design, a commercially published setting, or a setting derived from inspirational material (e.g. novels, comics or cinema). These rules are presented in a modular way in order to facilitate referee modification, further they are largely compatible with the older editions of the world’s most popular role-playing game.

The second section of the book is an example of a specific setting designed to work with these rules: The Metal Earth. However, this section will also include material that can easily be used in other settings.

To add to the confusion, some setting specific material, most of which is directly involved in character generation, will be included in the first section. Furthermore, there will be naughty pictures and bad language throughout the book.

Note: the guiding principle of design in regards to this game is brevity; four words are never used in a situation where two will do the job. It is my intention, with the exception of the aforementioned naughty pictures, to give the referee and his bitches exactly what they need to run a science fantasy role playing game, nothing more and nothing less.

The good news is- it might not take me too long, because I just finished grad school and I have yet to find a job. So I'm going to work on this while I'm not applying for work or slacking.

Humanspace playtest PC: Jak Mogan

Jak Mogan
Astronaut Level 2
Male
Homeworld: Earth
Age: 25
Languages: Sunuz

Str: 12
Dex: 14
Con 15
Int: 11
Psy: 8
Cha: 9

HP: 17
AC 5 (space suit)

Weapons:
Space Sword
Disruptor Pistol

CR 0
Gear: see above

Class skills:
Engineer
Gunner
Space Swordsman
Energy Pistol 2
Navigator
Pilot

Background Skills
Primitivist
Robo Tech
Medic

The pic is a little rough, but that's because I used a digital camera as a opposed to a scanner. Anyway,I thought showing a low level pc in their natural state (wounded/near death) would be cool.

Gods, why did I eat that goblin sausage?

Every day in the wilderness/cavern whatever all characters have to make 1d4 saving throws vs. taking a really, really, really inconvenient shit. There is no limit to how many days in a row this can be a problem. PC's can opt to hold the shit in, which leads to another saving throw- against 'roids. failure leads to 1d3 piles, -25% of movement rate for each one and -1 on all combat rolls for each one as well. These piles will take 2d4 days to subside, during this time the character must make hourly saving throws. A failed ST results in uncontrollable weeping- at both ends. .

Vehicles: Part 1 of 3

Forms of non muscle powered vehicle transportation, ranging from sailing vessels to steam wagons to rockets and starships, are all dealt with under the same system. This system is extremely abstract and simple and is more of a set of parameters intended to assist the players and referee conceptualize vehicles than a hard and fast set of rules. As with all my mechanics, these were formulated with the lazy referee in mind (i.e., me). Groups desirous of a more complex and comprehensive system should look for it elsewhere.

Vehicles are categorized in one of four classes (1, 2, 3, and 4) or land, sea, air, and space respectively. Specific vehicle characteristics represented by four statistics, Speed, Armor Class, Hit points and Upkeep. Certain types of craft may have specific restraints or bonus to be determined by the referee e.g., submarines can operate underwater; you can’t drive a tank through a tightly packed forest- at least not at its normal speed.

The vehicle classes are, for the most part, self explanatory. Obviously, for example, land vehicles are restricted to moving over land, and in many cases can only function at top speed if there is an available road or there is no obstruction (e.g., broken ground; a cliff face, rows and rows of giant phallic monoliths ect…). Special vehicles such as low rise hovercraft may be able to ignore the former of these restrictions.

Vehicle power sources and the rate of necessary refuel are determined on a case by case bases by the referee. A standardized system would suck. These points will be addressed further in the examples given in the third part of this series.

Speed:

Movement is represented by a score ranging from 1-10. This value is designed to measure the speed of vehicles in relation to one another; it is not meant to measure the absolute speed of a vehicle. Absolute speed is once again determined on a case by case basis, sometimes varying from vehicle to vehicle from place to place. Players should eschew all expectations of consistency, or perhaps, play GURPS. For the purpose of this system, each class of vehicles is considered to move twice as fast as the class below it. Therefore, a Class 1 vehicle with a Movement value of 2 moves at half the speed of a Class 2 vehicle with a Movement Value of 2 and the same speed as a Class two vehicle with a movement of 2.

It is possible for a vehicle to have more than one movement score, as may be the case with vehicles like starships and submarines which are capable of movement through different mediums. For example a spaceship may have different movement values for travel in an atmosphere, a vacuum, or hyperspace, if you feel the need, but, really, I would not bother to go into this level of detail. Just keep in mind that everything is relative and go from there.

Armor Class:

As with everything, this should be determined on a case by case basis, but it works exactly the same way as armor class does for characters and creatures. Some additional guidelines will be provided in the form of examples in the final entry of this series.

Hit Points:

Vehicle hit points are determined on a case by case basis- and as they only partially represent the vehicles integrity, may actually go up or down depending on the experience, or lack thereof, of the operator(s). For example a small sailing ship may have a base of 10 hit points, but the referee may grant another 5 if the crew manning it is experienced.

Upkeep:

This is the cost (in gold pieces, or zorms, or whatever) required to keep the vehicle operational. Also determined on a case by case basis, and possibly subject to modification. Furthermore, this cost can sometimes be covered in commodities other than gold. A sailboat may be reprovisioned with no monetary expense if the crew puts in at an island. A starship that uses human sacrifices for fuel need only do some kidnapping, or make use of an unpopular crew member. As always abstraction is useful, but one should never get carried away with it.

In the next entry I will address vehicle combat, critical hits, and I will take another look at movement (if I fucking feel like it).

Ruminations on publication and some art.

It has been suggested to me (several times now) that I slap all this stuff into a book or something. I think I'd like to do it, but it will take me a long time, I think. there are many drawings to do and lots of stuff to write. I don't even know the format I should pursue (e.g. digest). Furthermore, now that White Box is dead or something (edit S&W WB has reverted to Mythmere and is in print, see comments), I don't even know if I should move it over to another rules set, or use the OGL to turn it into a complete game. There's got to be at least a couple of you sober enough to offer up some opinions.

Whatever/anyway here's some junk I drew (click for larger images):

First up, something I drew for the upcoming Planet Algol Book:


Here's my secret base:
Here's a Screamer:
And here is the byproduct of reading too many super hero comics and space opera novels at the same time (as well as running a SHRPG and planning an SFRPG). The hero is named Shockwave.
For what it's worth the comic page at the top of the post was part of a strip that I worked on with a friend called Assault and Pepper which may or may not have taken place on The Metal earth.

Men of Metal

The Lost Wars and the Mists:

The Final Human Empire came together as the product of a long series of wars. Details, such as the exact number, nature and location of these wars have long since been forgotten. Peoples, generals and heroes that lived through and fought these world shaking conflicts exist in current day memory only as shadows and allusions, hidden in the myths passed down from later eras.

The endless, eldritch ages the Earth had endured before the coming of the Lost Wars are collectively referred to as The Mists; little or nothing is known of these times.

There can be no doubt, however, that powerful artifacts from these forgotten ages exist. Even so, the scholars and explorers of the current day Metal Earth are far more likely to discern a particular item’s use than the context form which it initially emerged.

The Eternal Empress

The Eternal Empress, ruler over the final Human Empire, was cursed during the Lost Wars by an enemy remembered now only as Stranger 7. This curse visited unnaturally long life upon the Empress- and her people are said to have lived as long as stones under normal circumstances. The Empress watched millennium pass; her twilight kingdom flourished and waned and flourished again- only to expire at last in the Wars of Unreason, which broke the power of men and the world with it.

During her long, long life, the Empress watched all that she loved wither and die, and she loved much and she grieved much- such was her nature, and this, of course, was the true power of Stranger 7’s curse.

A long line of husbands and consorts lived, died and fell away to dust while the Empress remained as fresh as the first day of spring. It is said a deep sadness fell upon her and she did not smile for over a thousand years. At the end of this time, in an effort to break the hold of her despair, the Empress called together her scientists and sorcerers; her necromancers, cyberneticists, shamans and surgeons, too. After working for a year and a day, the savants unveiled the product of their labor to the Empress: the now legendary Men of Metal. Indestructible, deathless beings comprised of the most advanced sorcerous and scientific components. No one knows how many the made for certain, some say there were ten, others say that ten times ten times that number were created. What is known, though, is that from that day forward, the Empress resumed the practice of taking husbands and concubines. When a man grew to an age where he could no longer satisfy Empress’ lust, she gave him over to the artificers. These technicians would strip away the man’s flesh and lock his consciousness within the invulnerable form of a Metal Man. Forever.

So well made were they that many of the Men of Metal survived the Wars of Unreason. They remain in the world still, some infamous, others hidden and unknown, all growing stranger and more inscrutable as they pass the aeons locked away from feeling and death within their indestructible roboforms.

Grax Iré Lord of the Waste (Monster/ Man of Metal)

AC: 19 [0] Special: Fireburst, Radiate

HD: 20 Move: 30

Attacks: Smash HDE: 20/ 4000 xp

Grax Iraé is 12 meter tall humanoid of burning chrome. Iré resides in the remains of an ancient starship, located somewhere in the Desert of Rust. A greedy and cruel being, Grax Iré is said to have a horde of powerful artifacts from the time of the Final Empire.

Fireburst :Once a round Iré can attack with a 40’ cone of fire. Anyone trapped in the cone must make a saving throw. Failed save takes 10d6 fire damage; successful save takes 5d6 damage. Characters who drop below zero hit points as a result of this attack must take a result from the wound table.

Radiate: Once a day, Grax Iré can radiate heat. He can use no other attack while radiating, but the process can not be stopped, unless Grax Iré is killed.

During the first round, heat is transmitted through stone, metal and similar materials in a circle of 100m diameter (with Iré as the center point). Anyone standing within the circle takes 4d6 damage (save for half damage). Space suits, magical armor and other sorts of special gear may provide complete or partial protection.

During the second round, the circle expands 100m in diameter. The damage increases to 8d6 (save for half damage). Air becomes too hot to breath properly anyone within the circle must save or suffer ½ movement (androids and robots excepted). Again, spacesuits and other gear may provide some protection.

During the third round, the circle expands 200 more meters and the air catches fire. 20d6 damage (save for half). Save or movement is reduced by ½. This effect lasts for 1d6 rounds and then the fire flares out and conditions return to normal.